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Trial aborted after man's eyeball falls out

Joseph Slobodzian

PHILADELPHIA: A court case over a fight that cost a man his eye has ended in a mistrial after he lost his prosthetic eye while giving evidence.

One punch cost John Huttick his left eye during a fight with the alleged assailant, Matthew Brunelli, outside a pub in Philadelphia in August 2011.

Mr Huttick, 48, was on the witness stand on Wednesday, weeping as he told the Common Pleas Court jury about losing his eye, when he literally lost his eye.

Two jurors seated nearby gasped and started to rise as if they wanted to leave. Mr Huttick caught the $3000 prosthetic blue eye and let out a cry.

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''I couldn't believe it just came out,'' he said after the judge granted the defence's mistrial motion. The judge then set a new trial for March 4 and, with judicial understatement, declared it an ''unfortunate, unforeseen incident''.

For Mr Huttick, the trial's bizarre end was just another chapter in his life's downward slide since the fight.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Gilson said the incident occurred after 2.30am and involved a group of people, including Mr Huttick and Mr Brunelli, a 23-year-old cook.

Mr Brunelli's lawyer said her client struck Mr Huttick with a fist in self-defence. Mr Gilson alleged that Mr Brunelli hit Mr Huttick with a metal key protruding from between his fingers.

Mr Huttick, who is suing Mr Brunelli and the tavern, said the injury and impaired vision cost him his job at another bar. He said depression nearly ended his relationship with his girlfriend and drained his bank account. ''A year later, I have no place to live and I ran out of money,'' he said.